Going Combo

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My small town in GA that borders two paid department cities, Savannah and Pooler, was an all volunteer FD with a full time paid Chief.  They had an automatic mutual aid agreement with Pooler which was recently discontinued because of political issues.  They will still be dispatched if my town doesn't sign on in a timely manner and will come in if called.

 

At this weeks town council meeting, the monthly fire fee was essentially doubled depending on various factors, and effective July 1 the local FD will be hiring enough firefighters to have one paid man per shift 24/7 and also to pay volunteers for each call made.

 

In addition, the County, which provides EMS, stations an ambulance in our local firehouse.  The current service provides two EMS persons who are also Firefighters.  So starting July 1, we will have the two EMS/FF plus the newly hired FF 24/7 along with the paid Chief during the day.  Also during the day, members of the Maintenance Dept. who are also volunteers respond to the scene or to the firehouse as the Maint Bldg is next to the FH.  

 

The town is expanding a little so the Chief expects there will be increases in manpower commensurate with that expansion in the coming years.  

 

The local dept operates three engines, two E-Ones and one Pierce.  One is first out to structure fires, One is first out for Auto/Rescue and One for 'open' fires.

 

The new paid firefighters will be paid $11.00 an hour.  Pooler is paying around $11.50, neighboring Effingham County is around $15.00.  Yes there is difference in the cost of living here in the South, but, damn.

[dwcfireman 656]

As our cities spill out into the suburbs, the suburbs to the countryside, coupled with the increase demand for emergency services and the declining number of volunteers, this IMO is going to be a growing trend among many communities over the next few decades.  Going from an all volunteer department to a combination department has a lot of benefits, such as decreased response times and increased manpower.  And, as communities grow, along with the need for more services, I wouldn't doubt that you'll see more career staff being added to fill out an engine or add staff to a second.

 

But, one thing that must be remembered as you add career personnel to the ranks is that the chief and the town have to remember that there are volunteers, and they need to have integrated training with the career staff so both parties will work cohesively on the fire ground.  With that, an atmosphere needs to be created where everyone will get along, train together, play together, and go home together.